Feminine foundation garment especially for separately shaping the individual buttocks of a wearer



1967 A. MARCHISELLA 3,

FEMININE FOUNDATION GARMENT ESPECIALLY FOR SEPARATELY SHAPING THE INDIVIDUAL BUTTOCKS OF A WEARER Filed March 8, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F76. F/G. 2

INVENTOR. AMAP/CO MARCH/55AM 17, 9 A. MARCHISELLA 3,

FEMININE FOUNDATION GARMENT ESPECIALLY FOR SEPARATELX SHAPING THE INDIVIDUAL BUTTOCKS OF A WEARER Filed March 8, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,298,373 FEMININE FQUNDATION GARMENT ESPECIALLY FOR SEPARATELY SHAPING THE INDIVIDUAL BUT'KUCKS OF A WEARER Amerieo Marchisella, 18-15 27th Ave., Long Island City, N.Y. 11102 Filed Mar. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 437,763 11 Claims. (Cl. 128523) This invention relates to a feminine foundation garment especially for separately shaping the individual buttocks of a wearer.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide a feminine foundation garment of the character described that includes two sets of support bands each of which shapes and forms a different buttock in a manner such that the rump of the wearer is fashioned into a shapely configuration.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a feminine foundation garment of the character described including two sets of buttock support bands which are separately anchored to a front portion of the garment overlying the abdomen of the wearer so that a firm support is provided for said bands.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide a feminine foundation garment of the character described including two sets of buttock support bands aflixed to the garment and which sets of bands are in girthwise tension at the front of the garment so that said bands flatten the stomach of the wearer of the garment while at the same time shaping and uplifting the individual buttocks of the wearer.

It is yet a further object of my invention to provide a feminine foundation garment of the character described including two sets of buttock support bands which underlie the buttocks and thereby prevent the foundation garment, especially of the type without a crotch piece, from riding up on the body of the wearer.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a feminine foundation garment of the character described including two sets of buttock support bands which shape the flanks of the foundation garment to match the somewhat outwardly convex configuration of the flanks of a wearer thereby assuring a good fit of the garment while eliminating the side panel inserts which are found on conventional foundation garments for the purpose of shaping the flank portions thereof.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide a feminine foundation garment of the character described wherein the flanks of the garment are shaped to match the outwardly bowed configuration of the hips of the wearer without the formation of seams in the foundation garment so that when a wearer dons a snug outer article of clothing over the foundation garment, no seams on the foundation garment will cause unsightly protuberances to appear.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide a feminine foundation garment of the character described wherein the buttocks of the wearer are separately and individually lifted and slightly separated while the stomach of the wearer is flattened and wherein despite the application of tension forces to the body of the wearer by said bands the foundation garment is comfortable while standing, sitting or during any activity.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide a feminine foundation garment of the character described which uplifts, rounds and engenders a youthful look to the derriere of the wearer so that said body area will have a natural firm appearance rather than the flattened appearance into which it is forced by present day conventional foundation garments.

In accordance with the teaching of my invention, I

3,298,373 Patented Jan. 17, 1967 provide a feminine foundation garment which includes twin opposed sets of support bands, each of said sets acting upon, controlling, shaping, forming and uplifting a different individual buttock of the wearer. The foundation garment includes a torso circumscribing and constraining sheath, preferably including elastic fabric material, which extends from below the buttocks to at least the waist of the wearer. Said sheath is similar in shape and function to a conventional girdle or panty girdle and to the hip portion of a corset.

The bands of each set are formed from elastic material, are elongated and nested one within another. The inner band of each set defines an area of tear drop configuration, and each successive outer band in said set defines a progressively larger area but of similar configuration. Each band is fixed, as by stitching, along its entire length to the interior face of the sheath, and each set of bands is fixed to a different right or left half of the sheath.

Integral with the sheath and located over the abdomen of the wearer of the garment is a relatively inelastic front panel which preferably is relatively inelastic in at least a circumferential direction and which may be elastic vertically. Each set of bands is similarly located on its affiliated half of the sheath, and the ends of the sets of bands are secured to opposed sides of the inelastic panel. Since the panel is essentially unyielding and is located over a relatively firm portion of the wearers body, to wit, the abdomen, said panel anchors the ends of the sets of bands. Each set of bands includes an upper reach portion which rearwardly and downwardly diagonally spans the flank of the sheath and thus the flank of the wearer, a retroverted bight portion which passes between the buttocks and underneath only one of the buttocks, and a lower reach portion which upwardly and forwardly diagonally spans the same flank of the sheath at a steeper angle than the upper reach.

, When the foundation garment is donned by a wearer, the sets of bands will be in lengthwise tension so that by being fixed to the ends of the sets, the said front panel is pulled toward the body of the wearer and flattens the adbomen of the wearer while the bight portions of the sets of bands individually uplift and slightly separate the buttocks of the wearer. Thereby, the buttocks are desirably shaped into a youthful from and gain a natural appearance and are not flattened as is the case with conventional foundation garments.

Since the bight portions of the sets of bands underlie the buttocks, their position beneath these protuberances prevents the foundation garment from riding up on the body of the wearer. Further, the stitching of the elastic bands to the flank portions of the sheath in a certain manner causes the said flank portions to pucker outwardly and thereby to match the outwardly convex shape of the flanks of the wearer. In this manner, the foundation garment nicely fits the body of the wearer and accommodates the womans natural curves without the necessity for any side insert panels which are used on conventional foundation garments to shape said garments. Also, since no insert panels are necessary there are no seams on the flanks of the sheath so that when a woman wears a snug article of clothing over my foundation garment no unsightly lines are evident.

The foregoing and various other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent to the reader in the following description.

My invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the foundation garment hereinafter described and of which the scope of application will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of my invention,

FIGS. 1 and 2 are, respectively, front and rear plan views of my foundation garment with dash lines showing the location of the twin sets of support bands on the inside of the garment;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view of a set of support bands sewn to the interior face of a left half of a still unformed foundation garment;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are enlarged cross sectional views taken respectively substantially along the lines 44 of FIG. 1 and 5-5 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a left side elevational view of my foundation garment engirdling the torso of the wearer and illustrating in dot-and-dash lines the configuration of the rump and the abdomen of the wearer before donning my garment; and

FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of my garment on a wearer.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 denotes a feminine foundation garment especially for separately shaping the individual buttocks of a wearer, the same being constructed in accordance with the teaching of my invention. Said garment 10 incorporates two opposed sets of support bands, to wit, a right set 12 and a left set 14.

The foundation garment includes a torso constraining and circumscribing sheath 13 formed from fabric material and which extends, when worn, from below the buttocks of the wearer to at least the waist of the wearer. The sheath is form fitting and of the step-in type. Preferably, the sheath is formed from a two-way stretch elastic so that said sheath constrains, supports and contours the torso. As is conventional, the sheath 13 includes a waist band 16, a right flank 18, a right leg 20, a left flank 22, a left leg 24 and a crotch piece 26. A front vertical seam 28 and a rear vertical seam 3t) join the two halves of the sheath, to wit, a right half 31 and a left half 33, each half including a flank and a leg. The sheath is completed by lower front and back seams 32, 34 which aflix the crotch piece 26 to the insides of the legs of the sheath.

It should be noted at this point that the foundation construction which will shortly be fully described can be incorporated into any type of womens foundation garment including a girdle (without a crotch), a long leg panty girdle, a corset, and a corselette. The sheath 13 illustrated in the drawings is of the panty girdle type.

The sets of bands 12, 14 are mirror-images of one another and each set comprises optionally one, but preferably two or more and suitably three support bands 38. The bands are formed from elastic material, are flat and elongated and are of uniform width and rectangular transverse cross section. The bands are preferably elongatable from between 150% to 200% and are less resistant to stretch than the elastic material of the sheath. Each band has a broad flat outer face 40 which is flocked to engender a pleasant plush feel when in contact with the skin of the wearer and the other face 42 of each of the bands is hidden and in contact with the fabric of the sheath 13. Each band 38 and consequently the sets of bands 12, 14 are preferably affixed to the inner side of the sheath and the bands are held in place by lines of longitudinally yieldable, e.g. zig-zag, stitching 44 which run along both long sides of said bands for their respective entire lengths.

Each set of support bands 12, 14 has a like configuration and each is similarly located on its afiiliated half of the sheath, respectively 31, 33. The bands in any one set are nested one within the other so that each band in each set defines a similar shape but of different area. Each band defines a tear drop shape, with the points of said tear drops being at the front of the sheath and the retroverted bases of said tear drops being at the rear of the sheath. The progressively outer bands in each set define progressively similar shapes of larger area.

Integral with the sheath 13 and located in the front upper center of the sheath along the front vertical seam 28 is a relatively inelastic front panel 46 which preferably is relatively unyielding at least in a girthwise, i.e. horizontal, direction. Said panel is directly superimposed over the abdomen of the wearer when the foundation garment 10 is worn. The panel may be diamond shaped as illustrated in the drawings or may be square, circular or any other suitable shaping. Said panel may have decoration thereon as at 47 which is exhibited to view.

The panel 46 comprises a three layer sandwich (see FIG. 4), including front and rear facing sheets, respectively, 48, 50, and a strong flexible intermediate sheet 52 that is inelastic vertically and horizontally. Alternatively, the panel 46 may constitute a single sheet of a material that is not stretchable horizontally and is vertically elastic. The margin of the front panel is secured to the sheath 13 as by stitching 54 (see FIG. 4) which passes from an overlapping boundry 56 of the sheath 13 through said panel margin and then through a reinforcing boundry tape 58. The tape 58 overlies the panel margin on the inside of the sheath and aids to firmly fix the front panel in its proper location.

Each band has two ends, and consequently each set of bands has two ends. Since each set of bands is of similar configuration and is similarly located on its affiliated half of the sheath, only the left set of bands 14 will be described. The left set 14 includes an upper end 62, which end is fixed to an upper left portion of the margin of the panel 46. More specifically, the ends of the bands of the set 14 are located between and stitched to the margin of the panel 46 and the tape 58. (See FIG. 4.) The left set 14 further includes an upper reach 64 which spans the left flank 22 of the sheath 13. Said upper reach 64 runs rearwardly generally diagonally of the flank of the wearer, first running slightly upwardly, then horizontally and then downwardly towards the rear center seam 30 of the sheath. The left set 14 further includes a retroverted rearwardly arched bight 66 of relatively large radius of curvature. The bight 66 is arched in a direction generally away from the front apnel 46 of the garment 10. (See FIG. 7.) The bight 66 passes first between the buttocks and then below only one individual buttock, this being the left buttock as seen in FIGS. 6 and 7 for the left set of bands 14. More specifically, the bight runs beneath the buttock and desirably lies over the fold which is the juncture of the buttock and the associated leg of the wearer.

The set 14 further includes a lower reach 68 which runs forwardly and upwardly diagonally of the flank 22 of the sheath toward the front panel 46 at a steeper angle than the front reach. The upper reach 64 and the lower reach 68 converge toward the panel 46. The set 14 is completed by a lower end 70 which is secured to the front panel 46 at a lower left margin thereof in a manner similar to the upper end 62. It will be noted that the ends of the sets of bands are fixed to opposite sides of the front panel and that the ends of one set are circumferentially near but do not meet the ends of the other set. Further, the bight of one set is adjacent but does not touch the bight of the other set, with the rear center seam 30 bisecting the sheath area between said bights.

Since the bands are stretched when the garmet is donned each set of bands is placed under longitudinal tension as a result of which it supports, uplifts and slightly separates an individual buttock as would a sling or a hammock. The ends of the hammock for the left buttock are the upper and lower ends 62, 70 of the set 14 which are anchored to the aforesaid front panel 46. The body of the hammock is supported on one side by the upper reach 64 and on the other side by the lower reach 68. The bowed portion or body of the hammock is the bight 66 which partially encircles and undercups the individual buttock. The sets of bands are so proportioned that when the garment is worn, the hammock formed by each bight is under tension so as to lift the buttocks away from one another, upwardly and in opposed rotative directions around the flanks and toward the front panel 46. The direction of lift imparted to the left buttock is indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 7.

Further, the retroverted bight of each set of bands together with the portion of the sheath around the bight forms a half-cup or undercup which envelops the inner side and underside of an individual buttock and which partially supports the weight of said buttock. Said half-cup thereby constrains and forms its captured buttock into a desirable full and rounded contour. For this purpose, at least the outermost and preferably all of the bands in a set of bands, in the area of said bight, pass between the apices of the buttocks as well as below said apices. That is, said band overlie the different inner converging and facing slopes of the buttocks and overlie the lower slopes of the buttocks as well as the folds where said lower slopes meet the back of the wearers legs. The shaping imparted to the individual buttocks is best illustrated by the contour of the right buttock of FIG. 7.

As has been mentioned, the panel 46 is located adjacent the abdomen of the wearer and is hence located at a relatively firm non-yielding portion of the body of the wearer. Since the sets of bands are each fixed to said panel, said panel acts as a firm anchor and as a substantially fixed base for said sets.

A balance of forces is achieved by the tensile forces in the foundation garment, when the same is worn. On the one side, the front of the garment, the tension in the bands pulls the front panel rearwardly thereby desirably flattening the abdomen of the wearer to achieve a firm attractive look in this area. The dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 6 demonstrate the shape of the abdomen before the same is constrained by the front panel. On the other side, the rear of the garment, the bights of the sets uplift and form the buttocks to a youthful and natural shape.

It will be appreciated that, regardless of the resistance to elongation of the fabric of the sheath and the bands individually, the stitching of said bands to the sheath forms a two layer composite strip which is more resistant to elongation than either of its components. The said composite strips act as fashioning for the garment and impart additional constraining and controlling power to the garment, as described.

Since each set of bands passes underneath a different buttock and across the fold between said buttock and the back of a leg of the wearer the bands tend to resist further elongation (which would be the case if the bights passed over the buttocks) and so remain in place under the protuberances formed by said buttocks. Thereby, the garment as a whole by virtue of the location of the sets of bands does not ride up on the torso of the wearer, as is quite common in conventional girdles.

When the bands are stitched to the sheath in the course of manufacture of the garment, the fabric of the sheath is shirred, i.e., overfed by about 5% relative to the bands. As a result, the portions of the flanks of the sheath surrounded by each set of bands tends to dome (pucker) outwardly, which gives a desirable outwardly convex configuration to the flanks of the sheath. This shaping matches and accordingly accommodates the outwardly protuberant flanks of the wearer. Such shaping is necessary in a foundation garment and is provided by the tailoring of panels on conventional girdles. With my foundation construction, the flanks of the garment are properly shaped, the step in manufacture of inserting side panels or seams is eliminated, and the flanks of the garment are seamless. Thereby, when a tight article of clothing is worn by a woman over the garment 10, no unsightly protruding seams are present. This is especially valuable in articles like stretch pants and sheath dresses.

Utilizing a commercial embodiment of my foundation garment, the same was modeled by a woman with a waist measurement of 27 inches and a hip measurement of 37 6 inches. The apex (high point) of each buttock of the woman was located. After the womandonned my girdle, it was observed that the center to center distance between the apices was increased by /2 inch, and each apex was 1 inch vertically higher.

It thus will be seen that I have provided a foundation garment which achieves the several objects of my invention and which is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described or shown in the accompanying dawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A feminine foundation garment especially for separately shaping the individual buttocks of a wearer, said garment including (A) a torso circumscribing and constricting fabric sheath adapted to extend from below the buttocks to at least the waist of the wearer,

(B) twin opposed support bands afiixed along their entire lengths each to a different right or left half of the sheath, and

(C) a front panel integral with the seath and adapted to be located over the abdomen of the wearer,

(I) said front panel being relatively inelastic in at least a circumferential direction,

(D) each of said bands being adapted to be located at a different adjacent flank and buttock of the wearer and each comprising (I) upper and lower end portions secured to the panel,

(II) an upper reach portion running from the upper end portion diagonally downwardly and rearwardly on the sheath and adapted to span one flank of the wearer,

(III) a bight portion on the sheath running from the upper reach portion and adapted to pass between the buttocks and underneath a buttock of the wearer, and

(IV) a lower reach portion on the sheath running from the bight portion diagonally upwardly and forwardly to the lower end portion and adapted to span the said one flank of the wearer,

(V) said bands being in tension when the garment is on the wearer so as to lift and slightly separate the buttocks.

2. A feminine foundation garment as set forth in claim 1 wherein the bands are formed from elastic material and the areas of the sheath spanned by the bands are formed from elastic material.

3. A feminine foundation garment as set forth in claim 1 wherein a different set of support bands is aflixed to each different half of the sheath and the front panel is polygonal.

4. A feminine foundation garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein the bands within each set are nested one within the other and each of said bands defines a similar configuration.

5. A feminine foundation garment as set forth in claim 4 wherein each set comprises three bands.

6. A feminine foundation garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein each set of bands is of tear drop shape, the points of said shapes being at the front of the sheath and the retroverted bases of said shapes being at the rear of the sheath.

7. A feminine foundation garment as set forth in claim 3 wherein the sheath except for the front panel is formed from elastic material and the bands are formed from elastic material, the sheath being more resistant to elongation than the bands.

8. A feminine foundation garment as set forth in claim 7 3 wherein the sets of bands are afiixed to the inside face of the sheath by lines of stitching, the sheath being about 5% overfed relative to the sets of bands during stitching whereby the portions of the sheath surrounded by the sets of bands dome outwardly.

9. A feminine foundation garment especially for separately shaping the individual buttocks of a wearer, said garment including (A) a torso circumscribing and constricting fabric sheath adapted to extend from below the buttocks to at least the waist of the wearer, and

(B) twin opposed support bands aflixed along their entire lengths each to a different right or left half of the sheath (C) each of said bands being adapted to be located at a different adjacent flank and buttock of the wearer and each comprising (1) upper and lower end portions secured to a front portion of the sheath adapted to be located over the abdomen of the wearer,

(11) an upper reach portion running from the upper end portion diagonally downwardly and rearwardly on the sheath and adapted to span one flank of the wearer,

(III) a bight portion on the sheath running from the upper reach portion and adapted to pass between the buttocks and underneath a buttock of the wearer, and

(IV) a lower reach portion on the sheath runing from the bight portion diagonally upwardly and forwardly to the lower end portion and adapted to span the said one flank of the wearer,

(V) said bands in tension when the garment is on the wearer so as to lift and slightly separate the buttocks.

10. A feminine foundation garment especially for separately shaping the individual buttocks of a wearer, said garment including (A) a torso circumscribing and constricting fabric sheath adapted to extend from below the buttocks to at least the waist of the wearer,

(B) twin opposed support band means afiixed along their entire lengths each to a different right or left half of the sheath, and

(C) a front panel integral with the sheath and adapted to be located over the abdomen of the wearer,

(I) said front panel being relatively inelastic in at least a circumferential direction,

(D) each of said band means being adapted to be located at a different adjacent flank and buttock of the wearer and each comprising (1) upper and lower end portions secured to the panel,

(11) an upper reach portion running from the upper end portion on the sheath and adapted to span one flank of the wearer,

(III) a bight portion on the sheath running from the upper reach portion and adapted to pass between the buttocks and underneath a buttock of the wearer, and

(IV) a lower reach portion on the sheath running from the bight portion to the lower end portion and adapted to span the said one flank of the wearer,

(V) said band means being in tension when the garment is on the wearer so as to lift and slightly separate the buttocks.

11. A feminine foundation garment especially for separately shaping the individual buttocks of a wearer, said garment including (A) a torso circumscribing and constricting fabric sheath adapted to extend from below the buttocks to at least the waist of the wearer,

(B) twin opposed support bands aflixed along their entire lengths each to a different right or left half of the sheath, and

(C) a front panel integral with the sheath and adapted to be located over the abdomen of the wearer,

(D) each of said bands being adapted to be located at a different adjacent flank and buttock of the wearer and each comprising (1) upper and lower end portions secured to the panel,

(II) an upper reach portion running from the upper end portion diagonally downwardly and rearwardly on the sheath and adapted to span one flank of the wearer,

(III) a bight portion on the sheath running from the upper reach portion and adapted to pass between the buttocks and underneath a buttock of the wearer, and

(IV) a lower reach portion on the sheath running from the bight portion diagonally upwardly and forwardly to the lower end portion and adapted to span the said one flank of the wearer,

(V) said bands being in tension when the gar ment is on the wearer so as to lift and slightly separate the buttocks.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,872,927 2/ 1959 Erteszek 128-540 2,958,327 11/ 1960 Geissrnann 128525 2,980,114 4/1961 Montoya 128-523 3,236,241 2/1966 Alexander et a1 128555 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,106,002 7/1955 France.

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A FEMININE FOUNDATION GARMENT ESPECIALLY FOR SEPARATELY SHAPING THE INDIVIDUAL BUTTOCKS OF A WEARER, SAID GARMENT INCLUDING (A) A TORSO CIRCUMSCRIBING AND CONSTRICTING FABRIC SHEATH ADAPTED TO EXTEND FROM BELOW THE BUTTOCKS TO AT LEAST THE WAIST OF THE WEARER, (B) TWIN OPPOSED SUPPORT BANDS AFFIXED ALONG THEIR ENTIRE LENGTHS EACH TO A DIFFERENT RIGHT OR LEFT HALF OF THE SHEATH, AND (C) A FRONT PANEL INTEGRAL WITH THE SEATH AND ADAPTED TO BE LOCATED OVER THE ABDOMEN OF THE WEARER, (I) SAID FRONT PANEL BEING RELATIVELY INELASTIC IN AT LEAST A CIRCUMFERENTIAL DIRECTION, (D) EACH OF SAID BANDS BEING ADAPTED TO BE LOCATED AT A DIFFERENT ADJACENT FLANK AND BUTTOCK OF THE WEARER AND EACH COMPRISING (I) UPPER AND LOWER END PORTIONS SECURED TO THE PANEL, (II) AN UPPER REACH PORTION RUNNING FROM THE UPPER END PORTION DIAGONALLY DOWNWARDLY AND REARWARDLY ON THE SHEATH AND ADAPTED TO SPAN ONE FLANK OF THE WEARER, (III) A BIGHT PORTION ON THE SHEATH RUNNING FROM THE UPPER REACH PORTION AND ADAPTED TO PASS BETWEEN THE BUTTOCKS AND UNDERNEATH A BUTTOCK OF THE WEARER, AND (IV) A LOWER REACH PORTION ON THE SHEATH RUNNING FROM THE BIGHT PORTION DIAGONALLY UPWARDLY AND FORWARDLY TO THE LOWER END PORTION AND ADAPTED TO SPAN THE SAID ONE FLANK OF THE WEARER, (V) SAID BANDS BEING IN TENSION WHEN THE GARMENT IS ON THE WEARER SO AS TO LIFT AND SLIGHTLY SEPARATE THE BUTTOCKS. 